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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 116 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: pound · band · wind · lean · tear · drill · bound · content

  1. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  2. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  3. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  4. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  5. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  6. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  7. That was ________________ to happen.
  8. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  9. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  10. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  11. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  12. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  13. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  14. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  15. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  16. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  17. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  18. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  19. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  20. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  21. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  22. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  23. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  24. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. content — happy
  2. tear — to rip
  3. pound — to hit hard
  4. drill — a practice
  5. lean — to bend
  6. tear — from crying
  7. bound — certain
  8. pound — a weight
  9. content — videos and posts
  10. wind — moving air
  11. drill — army training
  12. wind — moving air
  13. bound — obliged
  14. pound — for dogs
  15. band — a music group
  16. lean — thin
  17. content — the amount
  18. lean — to rest against
  19. tear — from crying
  20. band — a ring
  21. wind — to turn a key
  22. band — a rubber band
  23. bound — tied together
  24. drill — the tool

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com